Tag Archives: Dumaguete

Slowly but surely saving up bit by bit for the bistro…..I really don’t have much right now but like I said previous…it’s better than nuthin!

Also, I forgot to say that the other picture I included of the bamboo thing with a face is our piggy bank lol

Doming accidentally called it our ‘pork bank’ because he couldn’t remember ‘piggy bank’ so now we joke all the time that it’s our pork barrel fund.

Yesterday was fiesta for macaboo…er…makabu or however it’s spelled…..so we went to a million people’s houses and ate a trillion lechons and meatballs and ribs and drank five zillion gallons of coke and sprite….I was dying by the end of the day lol
Unfortunately no pictures, booo….god damn the ex for stealing my camera.
Literally EVERYONE was staring at me everywhere I went, it was sooo awkward, and as an anxiety-ridden basketcase, it makes socializing here sooo hard, because obviously, there ain’t no hiding my pasty pale white skin….and everyone always looks and wants to talk and so I’m learning my best to not have panic attacks and stuff when strangers talk to me and stare….

aaanywhoozy, I figured I would post here because there’s quite a few of you that read my bloggity….if you could, can you please vote for me to win a full PR campaign for the bistro?
And also maybe share with your friends?

A lot of people have been having issues finding where to vote, so here’s a picture:

Andhere is the links for everything you need to know about the bistro!

Sorry, no pictures on this bloggity update unfortunately…nothing to give a relief for your eyeballs at all.

A lot has been happening, been seeing a lot of new things, and so life goes on, I guess.

Stuff went bad again….I dont know where I left off, but I went back to the house for a week, Damon remained sober and full of energy and piss and vinegar for one full week….then the very morning his mother left for her job he was back to drunk and I said fuck it for the last time.

The embassy has come through, just yesterday they told me the loan fiiinnnaaalllyyy got approved, but in the last few weeks, I’ve met two people who know quite a few people around town, and they’ve been spreading the word of maybe me getting a job…..needless to say, the embassy option will have to wait at this point, because I would rather be poor, full of good food, and happy, paying taxes to the Philippine government than poor and depressed and suicidal, inhaling black mold spores and eating out of garbage cans in Canada, repaying a criminal government that I hate.

I’ve gone down to Zamboangita, excuse me if the spelling is wrong, met a German man who owns the White Chocolate Hills beach resort, as well as two other resort owners that have been very kind, and seemed decently interested in possibly having a native speaker of English to help out around their properties.They said they would be in touch.Then, I went and met with a Korean man who runs an English school that I may be able to assist at, and on Monday I will be meeting with someone from one of the call centers around town to see if they’d be interested in hiring me.

The Lady I met and who’s taken me to meet people knows the woman who basically brought all the call centers into Dumaguete, so undoubtedly, she will know of someone to be interested if there is a prospect.

So I’ve been rushing my little bottom off to and fro, socializing and meeting with people, as well as keeping the word out that I want a job and I want to stay for good.

I keep thinking about how much Damon would hate me and embarass me and look down upon me now…… every time I meet someone I can hear him in my head saying ‘Oh, this person is stupid, moronic, loser, they don’t know anything, god how boring, blah blah….I’ve been trying to not let it get me down….logically, I know his view of other people ((as well as this whole country)) is depressing and off-base from reality…which is so ironic, when he tells me he loves the Philippines, but then says all Philippine food is disgusting, over salted and full of MSG…….When I know from direct experience, eating with the cops, eating with Ma’am Hoffmann, etc that rice and vegetables, or pechay and malunngay soup and jackfruit and ya know…..all the other foods I’ve tasted aren’t bloody disgusting or salty in the darn least…..I can’t say much about the salted fish…of course they’re salty…but SO DELICIOIUUUUSUSUS…I was scared to try them for the longest time, but the other day, I gave in and OHMYGOD…..so crunchy….so saaallltttyyyyy….so goooooooood….And I’m addicted to the BBQ pork chunks down the street from the copstation…..I cannot get enough of them.

Anyway just a small update, can’t stay online for too long as it isn’t my computer, as usual……I will try to write again soon.Damon also tried to make me feel bad for writing this blog…told me it’s practically a form of mental masturbation and that I am not allowed to air my personal life on the internet…….but honestly, excuse my language, Fuck That, I don’t censor myself, I can write about what I want, and if he didn’t want people to know the bad stuff, he shouldn’t have been, frankly, an asshole.

I will continue to write, because this blog actually has a purpose, once I have a solid place to write updates, and once I get more and more immersed in the Philippine culture and lifestyle, I want a space to be able to share my experiences, hopes, dreams, and reality of life as a foreigner in the Philippines.

Gosh, what a month, what a month.
The above picture is from my FAVORITE comic/graphic quote-book-thing, ‘A Softer World’
Always cheeky, poignant, and reassuring…they used to be in The Coast, which is a free newspaper in Halifax, NS, and I used to cut them out every week. I still have them all tucked away in a box at my moms somewhere.
I found out later you could buy a full-color book version at Strange Adventures comic shoppe, but I found the process of cutting them out and sticking them into an envelope kinda kitsch and wonderful, so.
Yep.

Anywhoo, I guess I have a lot to update you on, so here we go.
I wrote down stuff as it happened to better remember, but it’ll be a bit spotty, my memory has never been great.

On God-knows-what day in Jan, Damon had been drunk for weeks, and I decided enough was enough for me.
I took a Jeepney downtown to Lee Plaza, got a bit of cash out, picked up smokes, and went to Coco Amigos.

I sat there chain smoking and crying, had every intention of sleeping outside, but it was raining and I had forgotten my umbrella. I was half-hoping Damon would show up and take me home but he didn’t. After a while, I was really tired and I just wanted to go home, so I got the last Jeepney back to Valencia and walked back to the house, and slept on the porch.

On the seventh of February, I again packed up and got ray to drive me to Coco’s. I had no money this time, and so I went over to the boardwalk across the street and sat there, smoking.
After a while, I curled up and tried to rest, but kids kept bothering me asking for money and stuff….that’s kinda an annoying part of downtown…..all the kids beg, and I’ve been told that the women sometimes lend their kids out to other homeless/beggar-people so they can have a better haul for the day…..people pity people with kids all around the world, I guess….and they cash in on that fact here.

Anyways, A man and a heavily makeupped Lady stopped eventually and started asking all kinds of questions…I told them my story, told them my visa had been expired since January, etc, and they told me I should go to the Mayor for help in the morning.
After they left, two guys stopped and asked to take my picture.
I was immediately creeped out, wondering why they wanted MY picture, and one guy said he was from Manila for the weekend and so he wanted a picture….My antennas were wiggling furiously, but let them take one..

After they left, the group of kids that had been hanging around told me to call the police because I was going to get taken.
I asked them if they meant kidnapped, and they said yes……so I didn’t know if they knew much English, and I don’t know if that’s what they really meant, but I went to Coco Amigos, and got them to call the police.

They eventually got there, and I told them I was pretty much homeless and my visa was expired….everyone was super nice, and they let me smoke….They took me to the copshop, let me use the computer, gave me hot chocolate….I answered questions and gave all my info and stuff….and then we basically just talked about our two countries, Canada and the Philippines, talked about jobs, food, education, etc until I got tired.

I slept in a bench in a back office, and the next morning it was kinda super rainy.
The day started a bit hectic, they were trying to figure out what to do with me.

We went to see a social worker in Valencia, who gave me P200 for food, but said there was pretty much nothing she could do for me because I had no money or tickets to get home to Canada, and they had no money either.

We went to the Immigration office, and they said I had to update my visa and obtain an exit clearance just to leave, and that they couldn’t help either. I asked about deportation, but since I hadn’t done anything wrong, they said it’d be impossible, and that it takes months anyway.

One of the Female officers bought me lunch at a little cafe and we had a bit of a chat, she told me she’s dating a female judge in Ontario, she showed me pictures, and talked about Canadian money, I pointed out that the toonie and the ten peso looks similar to each other and stuff, it was a really nice break from the stress of the past few days.

After a few hours of head scratching, I was taken to la Casa Esperanza, which is a crisis center for women and children in Dumaguete city. I was told I would be able to stay until Monday, this day being Saturday.

I was shown around, read the rules, and shown to my room, which I shared with a woman and her baby, and a little girl.
It wasn’t really all that different from being at Adsum House, which is a shelter for women in Halifax that I have lived at quite a few times in the past.

My stay was fine, all the girls tried to teach me Tagalog, and I managed to remember a few….I now know shark, water, plate, dog, cat, eyes, and bat…and I have a list of other stuff that I’ve yet to memorize.
I had to beg for coffee and to be able to smoke cigarettes outside out of sight, which had me a bit stressed out for a few days, but I got through it.

On Monday, I heard nothing, then on Wednesday I got really homesick, so I asked them if I could go back to the house and see if things were any better, to try to make peace and stuff.
Two officers and a counselor took me back to the house, and right away I could tell Damon hadn’t even stopped drinking at all.
I spent two days at the house before I figured everything was royally effed, and so I went to the Valencia police station, and told them I wanted to contact the Canadian Embassy about going home.

They cleaned up a little nippa hut on the property and told me I could sleep in it while we got everything straightened out.

It was awesome watching how fast they cleaned and fixed the hut, it was a wreck before I got there, and a team of about six or seven guys zipped around and put a tarp on the roof and all that.
So I lived there for about a week and a half, then Damon sent me a stupid message on Facebook saying my Lush package had arrived….I paid a lot of money for it and so I went back to the house to get it.

Stupid fucking idea.
Damon was sitting in my pajama pants, all contrite and resolved and told me he had stopped drinking and he didn’t want to drink anymore and it was too inconvenient and blah blah blah blah blah, long story short, I decided to give him yet another goddamned chance, and he lasted a week.
As SOON as his mother left for her job, he picked up a bottle and started in on me yet again.

I’m now back living in the hut at the police station, trying to get the Canadian embassy to help me, and being very hungry and frustrated and tired and depressed and suicidal and pretty much the lowest I can currently be.

Lots of things have happened, and fear not, I have not abandoned this bloggity at all, the technology in the house all went kaput at pretty much the same time….
Donna went to Makati for surgery a few days before my birthday…..which was January 17th….then the tv died, and the internet started glitching up….

Damon drank again for four straight days and that was terrible, I got called all sorts of nasty things again, and at one point it was so bad I took my bag, packed it, and got a jeepney to Coco Amigos on the waterfront downtown.
I sat there for hours, had a calamansi juice, and smoked cigarettes…..I foolishly assumed he’d come try to find me after so many hours, but I was wrong. I was going to sleep outside and start doing what I needed to do to survive, but I got really tired and it was raining so I got the last Jeepney back to Valencia and walked back to the house.

What a terrible cycle it is….He drinks and treats me horribly…..I tell him I want to go home, and that he promised to send me back if things didn’t work out…then he stays sober for a few days so I feel like everything’s back on track, then he gets drunk again.

I’m tired of it, but I’m literally stuck here…I have no way to get myself home, I have about $100 in the bank, and I don’t know anyone who can help me out. I don’t want to ask Donna because she’s dealing with the chemo and stuff right now….but I’m going to have to.

My visa extension has also been expired since January 18th…..so technically I’m staying in the country illegally right now….but again, no money to do anything about it.
Maybe I could be deported. lol

Anyways, while Damon was on his little binge, I’d go up to the top of the path with a book and a beer and just sit and read all day….one day I was just crying and begging God for help, saying I needed to talk to someone, and that kinda stuff….and a few minutes later after I calmed down a bit, two missionaries, Sister Seaberg and Sister Fatiau sat down on the bench beside me and talked with me for quite a few hours.

They’re Mormons, and we’ve been hanging out ever since, they come to the house, we’ve cooked pasta for them, we went to church, and I’ll be going again this week, and while I don’t think I’ll join the church as a member, it’s just really nice to be socializing and to have someone to talk to again in the ‘real world’

Damon was invited to start a cooking class in the church, but last night while drunk he was going on about how he’s not going to go anymore and blah blah, so tough luck for him.

Not much other news, we’re going to be switching internet providers soon, because this one has terrible connection.

The title today comes from a nice poem by Joyce Kilmer….When I first got to the Philippines, Damon and I were driving home one day and I noticed every once in a bit there would be a sign with a line of a poem on it….I finally found out it who it was by, and I do suggest you look it up….it’s really nice to see poetry as you’re driving along, it was really refreshing, and it made me super happy.It took me about five drive-by’s to read the whole thing.

Anyways, I was reminded of it, because it has been raining now for about four days, and we have eight days to go.

I have never seen so much rain since I left the Maritimes….in Nova Scotia, this is pretty standard weather… but it’s a bit strange for here, at this time of the year. It almost turned into another typhoon, but it didn’t, Thank God.

the terrible parts of this are mild…I feel bad for anyone dealing with flooding right now in the lower lying areas, and it’s super dreary-feeling during the day…..but the good part is that I get to wear socks and my fuzzy Pyjamas and a big comfy sweater….I haven’t worn this stuff in a good four er five months, I really missed me fuzzyjammies.

Add in hot chocolate with cinnamon and nutmeg, popcorn, and good movies, and we’re golden here.

I’ve found a new hangout instead of spending so much time on Facebook, I’ve been chatting with a new group of friends over at Coinchat….its basically a social chat room that rewards you in bitcoin for good conversation. You don’t make much, but a few cents a day is better than nothing….god, I need a job.

Damon and I have been talking about maybe sending me back to Canada…..I guess I would go back, find a job, and just put money in the bank, live in a rooming house or something and live super cheaply, so I can save the money to either ship the cats back to Canada with us, or buy some property for us all in the Philippines.

I would absolutely hate to go back, but what can you really do when you can’t get a job anywhere?Nothing is panning out, Damon’s artwork, my photography, my editing and writing jobs, this blog, my sewing, blah blah.I was thinking of starting to make stuffed animals and teddy bear type things, but then I’d need stuffing…just another cost.

In happy news, my birthday is on the seventeenth of this month! Five days to go!Whoo!Hahah, I know nothing is going to happen, it’s been a really, really long time since I had a birthday celebration, but hey. A gal can dream!

Hey readers…..maybe think of throwing some support my way for my birthday gift?If you’d like to help support the blog, the cats and the household, head on over to the Donate page. The link is at the top there by the ‘about me’ section.

Well!It certainly has been a decent last few days….on very good news, Damon hasn’t touched a drop of drink in seven days, which is a total record for him…he’s holding my hand again, giving me hugs and kisses, and hasn’t been mean even once.whatever happened to get through to him, Bless The Lord for it doing so, and May It Continue.

Yesterday night, Damon, Donna and I were invited to a party, it was the feast of the patron saint of Dumaguete, St. Catherine.It was held by the guy who works in the travel agency that we always go to when we need photocopies for our Visa renewal, and boy oh boy was it tasty.

I didn’t take too many pictures because number one, I’m embarrassed for taking photos like a tourist, with a silly little pink digital camera instead of a professional Canon or Nikon, like others who were there….and two, I have a problem with social anxiety…I tend to think you shouldn’t take pictures of people without their permission, but I’m terrified of asking strangers if I can take their picture.

Yay, Catch-22’s!!

I at least got a shot of the Lechon. It was my first ‘real’ taste of it and I LOVE IT. Mmmmmmghghgh….its tender texture and juicyness tastes like the dark meat of turkey, mixed with the awesome flavors of baconey pork….It is soooo gooooood.

There was also spring-roll-type thingies, beef & broccoli-ish stuff, lots of rice, lasagna, chicken-finger thingies, some kind of taco spaghetti stuff, some kind of chowder, what looked like a stewed fish dish, and a few other things.All in all, it was a very tasty meal.

I kind of thought it was funny to find out that in Asia when you go to a party with food, you show up, talk a bit, eat, and pretty much leave right afterwards….I’m so used to Canada, and Cape Breton in particular, where you show up five minutes before food is served, have a few beers, eat, then sit and talk for hours and hours and hours while getting wasted.

I have been trying to find online jobs again for the past week…I thought I had hit on a job when I got a three-step interview with someone, I aced all the steps, but then he asked for my resume and living situation, and I haven’t heard back from him afterwards.It was an online assistant’s position, however I have a sinking feeling he was looking for an online camgirl.Ugh, sick and tired of dead leads and scams.I have set up a Deviantart account where I have started selling prints, mugs, puzzles, etc….if you would like to support me by purchasing my photography-work through Deviantart, I would be ridiculously grateful to you.

Well, I’m sure you all have heard now about Typhoon Yolanda…Obviously, I’m doing fine, though we had about two days with spotty power.

The above map is to show exactly what happened where… the typhoon hit from the right side, and Tacloban is apparently the worst-hit area.

I live juuust outside Dumaguete, which as you can see, is fairly sheltered from anything hitting us. I am also living in an elevated area, not at the top of a mountain per se, but definitely way above sea-level, and far away from a coastal area… It is about a twenty minute scooter ride to the coast from my area, and about ten-to-fifteen minutes to the top of the mountain.

A lot of the time, Manila is the hardest hit from these storms, but this one was a bit more central and knocked a lot of people on their butts… And that is seriously putting it mildly.

I actually hadn’t realized the extent of the damage, or the sickening death toll until today when I got back online.Our area was not badly hit whatsoever.

The wind picked up maybe five times, and it rained for the entire day, but it wasn’t torrential or worrisome amounts… during the height of the storm in our area, I compared it to basically a regular summer evening storm in Halifax, Nova Scotia… Even when I was hitch hiking through Montreal, I’ve seen worse storms…There was a night in Montreal that it rained so badly the street flooded up to our shins within ten minutes, and a crowd of people had to wait out the rain in a shopping mall.

My point had been that I didn’t think whatsoever that the other parts of this beautiful country would have it so badly.Apparently the death toll is nearing ten thousand people, and the destruction of towns along the coasts is easily within the billion dollar range.

I’m so surprised that what can be total horror for one part of this country can be just a wisp of air in another… I know it’s like that for every country, I’m sure, but this storm really nailed that fact home for me. This place is made up of over seven thousand islands, and each and every one is as different as night and day.

I definitely count myself very lucky to be in a safe-haven of an area, weather-wise.